Hi Paul,
I don't know about controlling Roon with a remote, but your Core or server can be controlled by a device like an ipad, or android tablet.
you will basically install Roon in your core device or server like you would in Jriver.
please refer to
this illustrationI am currently using a fanless NUC I bought for less than US$ 200 as my streamer
Here's my setup at home
Lenovo T430 I5 Laptop with 500 gb hd used as server. In this laptop, I have my music library, Roon, Tidal and HQ Player - this laptop is connected to a gigabit ethernet router..
NUC Streamer is also wired (ethernet) connected to the router so that the server and the streamer has a strong and solid communication. It was believed that the quality of the connection affects the sound, and I think it is true because in my experience, the sound is not as good when the server is streaming wirelessly. some people even use fiber optic isolation. I paid a guy $90 for the operating software for the Streamer. I don't exactly what it is, but it is quite big 16 gb. The streamer is then connected to the Dac via USB. I used Uptone Regen Amber in between the Streamer and the Dac, but it's optional.
according to the guys at computeraudiophile.com, this setup sounds better than connecting your laptop or server directly to the DAC.
I control my server/Roon on my ipad by using TeamViewer.
as for streamer that stream music and movies - I use Nvidia Shield. we stream Kodi a lot on my ht, no need to go to movie house anymore. The Shield is supposed to be the best android tv streamer you can get.. can stream up to 4k resolution, and when the streaming server is good, the stream is very smooth with no buffering (we have 50 mbps internet service at home) I also have it wired to the router to get the full bandwidth/speed.